Under Pressure
by TigreLily
Summary: After the last few months Olivia is far from okay. When she's caught in a case that will teach her more of cruelty than she ever wanted to know, not even Elliot may be enough to save her.
1. Shadows

_Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Apparently Dick Wolf can't be hypnotized. Oh, and his security people aren't easily amused, either._

Olivia Benson leaned back in her chair, groaning as sore muscles protested the movement. She instinctively swept the precinct, making sure no one had seen her weakness. The detective needn't have worried. The other members of her squad had long since departed. Munch and Fin had drifted off to their respective nocturnal haunts and Lake was in jail. Even Cragen had departed after admonishing her to get some rest. Olivia was surprised, she half-believed that her Captain lived in his office. _Apparently not._ She was pleased for him, really she was. She was also thrilled to be out from under his overprotective eye.

Olivia opened her desk drawer and pulled out the ibuprofen. She grimaced as she washed down the pills with a swallow of cold coffee. _The next time Munch decides to make coffee, I'll cuff him. _She half-smiled at the thought and shut her eyes for just a second, waiting for the pills to take the edge off her discomfort. Her eyes snapped open as the doors flew apart. Pain flared through her skull as those same doors slammed shut and a large body hurled itself into the chair across from hers.

"Rough night?" She didn't have to ask, but better he let it out now than stomp around all day. Better for her head and his kneecaps, anyway.

"Why are you still here?" Elliot asked. "I seem to remember Cragen telling you to go home."

_ Why am I still here? Because you checked your foul mood at the door and went home to your lovely wife. You ate the roast beef she made for you and asked Kathleen about her day. You stopped the twins bickering over the last Pepsi by drinking it yourself and later lectured Dickie on table manners (although you don't have much of a leg to stand on) and confiscated Lizzie's phone for texting at the table. And after dinner, you cradled your baby son and loved him with all your heart. Even though Kathy ambushed you later, you had those hours of bliss before. So avoid all you want, but don't ask me to be your punching bag tonight._

_ I am still here because I want to experience what you have so badly that it makes my heart ache. I am still here because lately my apartment is empty, no one is there to need me and God, do I need to be needed. I feel safer and more comfortable in the 1-6 than I do in my own home. Finally, I am here because this case is already ripping me apart and I'm not sure that you'll be able to sew me back together this time. _Her thoughts raced and she swallowed hard to dispel the lump in her throat.

"Are you doubting my powers of persuasion, Stabler?" Olivia shot her partner an arch look. "Cragen caved as long as I'm in the crib by four o'clock, and it's only two."

Elliot grunted. "He must really want the Sarevich case wrapped," he said. "Nothing like a hint of a trafficking case to put the city in an uproar and the brass on all of our asses."

"I thought we were keeping this one quiet," Olivia said with a frown, "Krystyna's too unstable to move, and the last thing we need is for the perps to know she's alive."

"Some asshole at the _Daily_ decided that selling more papers, attracting more viewers and starting a panic were more important than protecting a victim. Dances just this side of violating the gag order. Doesn't give out her name or room number, but he does tell everyone that we're considering trafficking."

Elliot shrugged and Olivia went back to perusing the file. Krystyna Sarevich had been raped, shot and left for dead in an alley near Hell's Kitchen, only to be discovered by a prostitute and would-be John looking for a place to conduct business. The rape kit indicated high levels of abuse. According to the doctor, she had years worth of damage. There were marks in her arms where she'd been forcibly restrained and needle marks between her toes. She'd been shot up with a heavy dose of cocaine, and fell into a coma shortly after the paramedics arrived, giving only her name. The doctors believed that either she would come out of it soon, or she would never wake at all.

Elliot covertly studied Liv from over his own file. His partner was pale, hollow-eyed and gaunt. He was worried about her. The last few months were beyond ugly. Olivia danced on a frayed tightrope of control, they all did. But Cooper and Lake gave her front-row seats to what happened when that rope finally gave way. _And Cooper's case was horrifying to start with._ That comic book asshole tried to blow her up and then attacked her in her apartment. Then there was Sealview. _Sweet Jesus._ Elliot still didn't know the details but knew that particular bombshell was primed to explode any time. Not to mention that Rook must've shocked her at least once before Elliot got to her. How else did the bastard obtain a tape of what was very clearly Liv screaming?

"El?" her voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, been up late. Eli's teething and his crying has everybody irritable." He noticed the phone still in her hand and gestured to it. "Good news?"

"Yes and no," Olivia said, "they found a friend of Krystyna's back in Vladivostok. She faxed us Krystyna's diary from the summer she left. Of course, the diary's in Russian, so we have to send it to the linguistic guys for tanslation."

"Let's do that, then. Maybe the diary will give us a name" Elliot made for the door, only for Liv to plant herself in front of him.

"First off, it is now 4:05. None of the linguistic guys are in yet. Secondly, I have no intention of pissing Cragen off anymore than necessary. Finally, you might want to freshen up before you go anywhere."

"What?" He was completely lost. Her eyes crinkled in amusment and her lips quirked. "What's so funny?" he repeated.

"Well, there's the spitup on your shoulder and the roast beef on your shirt. And last time I checked, your cell phone wasn't pink."

Her amusement followed him to the locker room as he changed into fresh clothes and stashed Lizzie's cell phone in his locker. He returned to find all traces of mirth gone from her features, leaving them pale and strained.

"Change of plans. Krystyna's starting to wake up. She's hysterical and not letting any of the staff near her. We can sleep later."

"But, Cragen-"

"Screw Cragen. I can't stand by and watch them put her in restraints. I need to try and talk her down before I let them do that to her, to anyone."

Olivia rushed for the car, leaving Elliot to catch up. _Since when has she been so set against restraints?_ Every warning alarm he had was going up. Olivia wasn't anywhere near as okay as she claimed. _If she breaks now, I don't know enough to help her._


	2. Confrontations

AN: I tried to sue for custody on the grounds that keeping those two apart was cruel & unusual punishment for both us and them

_AN: I tried to sue for custody on the grounds that keeping those two apart was cruel & unusual punishment for both us and them. So now I get to pay Mr. Wolf's legal fines, too. Somehow that kinda backfired…_

_Pater noster, qui es in caelis…_ Elliot recited the Lord's Prayer as Olivia slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision. Olivia's reaction was considerably less printable. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and surreptitiously crossed himself under the guise of adjusting his seatbelt. Olivia was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, still swearing under her breath. The minute she saw a clear path she darted into it.

"You won't be able to help her if we crash and end up in our very own hospital beds," he said mildly.

Olivia opted not to respond, but eased up a bit on the gas. She bit her lip, hesitated. She needed to talk to him, but didn't really want to open up this particular can of worms just yet. She opted for a compromise.

"I want to get her story as soon as possible. It'll be easier if she isn't sedated," she said.

_Bullshit._ Elliot was tempted to push, but thought better of it. He already had one woman pissed off at him, so why invite another to the party? The rest of the trip passed in silence and he felt reassured as they headed into the hospital.

The first thing he heard was screaming mixed with what he assumed were Russian epithets. Olivia blew by him, one hand on her holster. _Oh shit!_ Elliot gave chase and nearly ran over her as she skidded to a stop outside one of the rooms.

"Liv?"

"I'm going to take someone's head off for this," she all but snarled. She took a deep breath and eased into the room, affording Elliot a glimpse inside.

Krystyna Sarevich was thrashing in a frenzy. Her wrists were secured to the bedrails and she'd been hobbled. The woman's cries had been reduced to mere moans, but Elliot could distinguish bits of Russian and broken English.

"No….I'll be good….please no more nomore…"

He saw Olivia's hands tremble and his own heart twisted with pity. When his partner glanced at him, he prudently withdrew beyond the victim's line of sight.

"Krystyna?" Olivia kept her voice soothing, all her focus on the young woman. She watched her jump and tug hopelessly at her restraints. "Krystyna, my name is Olivia. I'm here to help you."

"That's what they all say, then they tie me up and leave me here for the волки," Krystyna flared. "Who are you?"

Olivia was taken aback. The victim went from near hysteria to lashing out within minutes. Was she still medicated? She nodded at Elliot who went in search of a doctor. "My name is Olivia Benson. I'm a cop," seeing Krystyna's expression, she hurried on, "I'm not here to deport you. I might even be able to get you untied. Why did the staff put you in restraints?"

"I woke up and this драчево just started touching me. I punched him." Krystyna's tone was defiant, but the look she shot Olivia was one of desperation. "Please, please untie me? I can't…I need my hands free…I won't do anything, I just can't be tied up like this anymore."

The detective bit her lip, "You have no idea how much I want to, but I have to check with your doctor first." She took a seat by the bed and looked for any sign of Elliot. Seeing none, she began easing the victim into the story. "Your English is very good. Where did you learn it?"

Krystyna let out a sob and gave a half-hearted tug at her restraints. "My f-friend Sasha. Her parents were American. She taught me to speak English. She found the newspaper ad." Krystyna was speaking faster now, her words tumbling over each other. "The ad said that we could go to college in America for cheap. It also said that there were better parties and lots of rich husbands. We thought it would be a way out of Vladivostok. We wanted more than to be peasant wives. We thought it would be the way to everything." Krystyna started sobbing, and Olivia murmured comforting words until Elliot tapped on the glass. She excused herself and stalked out the door to meet her partner and the two men with him.

"Detective Benson, meet Dr. Adams and Ilya lotsky. Dr. Adams is Krystyna's attending and Mr. Lotsky has offered the NYPD his service as a translator." Elliot made the introductions, smirking as he noticed that the doctor had yet to take his eyes off his partner. _Too bad buddy, you've pissed her off and you don't even know it yet._

"Is she clear to take the restraints off?" Olivia's tone was entirely too professional.

"Well, yeah, if she's done trying to beat people up." _Hello Detective, I believe mutual strip-searches are in order. Me first._

"May I ask what the hell you were thinking?" Olivia was going to kill him if he didn't at least pretend to make eye contact.

"What?" He was too busy staring at her chest to register her fury.

"You don't start examining anyone without identifying yourself first, and especially not a rape victim!" Olivia stormed. "And why the hell did you leave her alone, hysterical, and in restraints!?"

The doctor finally looked up, wearing what he no doubt thought was a "come-hither" look and charming smile. "Look, lady. If you wanna read me my Miranda rights we better go someplace a little more private. I've got a Jag down-"

Elliot got between Liv and the good doctor before she could slap him. "Dr. Adams, I think we can take it from here." He took a certain perverse pleasure in crowding the suddenly nervous doctor into the wall before letting him flee. He turned back to find Olivia emerging from Krystyna's room, looking oddly triumphant.

"She's glad to be untied, but fell asleep almost immediately," she reported. "She didn't give us a lot to go on, but it's a start."

Mr. Lotsky gave a polite cough. "In that case, I will be on my way. Detective Stabler, call me if I can assist in any fashion. Thank you for a most…entertaining evening." He left quickly.

Elliot stopped a nurse on the way out and asked her to see about getting Krystyna a different doctor. When they got into the car, Liv mock-glared at him.

"You should've let me handle it, El."

"Yeah, but then we'd have to explain it away as a righteous shooting. Last time I checked, being an utter asshole doesn't count," he replied.

Olivia's lips twitched as she fought a smile. "True. But even Tucker would have justified that one."

Elliot made a face. "Please, could we not imagine Tucker getting ogled?"

Olivia gave up and laughed, causing Elliot to smile in triumph. A few minutes into the drive, he started to ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue all night. Looking sideways at her laughter, he simply couldn't do it. Instead he just drank in the sight of her happiness.

_**He dialed the number and waited impatiently.**_

"_**Yes?" The voice was cold, displeased.**_

"_**The cops got there before I could shut the bitch up," he said hurriedly. "But I don't think they got anything useful out of her."**_

"_**You don't 'think' they got anything useful? You **_идиот!" _**the voice thundered. "You make damn sure that they don't get any farther!"**_

"_**Yes sir. They don't seem especially bright," he paused, anticipation simmering in his veins. "One of them is a woman. Very attractive, very fiery. She might be worth paying some attention to."**_

"_**Oh?" the voice was intrigued. "Make me a portfolio of her, and we'll see."**_

_**He smiled, closed his eyes. Christ, how he would make her beg. He was getting hard just thinking about it.**_

"_**Remember Peter," the voice jerked him out of his fantasy. "No marking the merchandise."**_

_**Peter swore as he hung up the phone and threw his borrowed lab coat in the trash.**_

_**Hundreds of miles away, the cold voice was laughing.**_

Волки – Wolves

Драчево – Bastard

Идиот - Idiot


End file.
